Announcing: ART FOREARM's The Reach
An online matchmaking portal (not that kind) for creative people
A few weeks ago we posted a poll on our Instagram account after sharing the call for pitches for our next issue. We asked: “Are you interested in a writer - project matchmaking service? For example: you want to write but need a metal-themed project to write about OR you have a metal-themed project but don’t want to write.”
The responses were immediate and affirmative—enough to warrant giving this thing a go…
So we’re introducing: The Reach.
The Reach is a shared, online, self-organized space for creative people who want to develop a collaborative pitch for our next issue, METAL. It’s designed for a very specific gap we’ve seen: people with strong projects, initiatives, or expertise who don’t necessarily want to write about it, and writers with a point of view but less access to a subject that fits the issue’s theme.
Our editorial board will continue to invite people we’re interested in hearing from to contribute to the magazine, but rather than mediating all those relationships ourselves, we’re opening a structure where they can happen laterally, too.
We’re keeping it simple by design:
People with projects upload a small, focused description/selection of work.
Writers upload a small selection of writing.
Participants browse, reach out, and decide for themselves whether or not to work together.
What happens next—how a collaboration forms, how a conversation unfolds, whether a pitch comes out of it—is up to you.
A few things to be clear about:
This is a pilot project. Art Forearm is a volunteer, artist-run publication, and we’re not in a position to matchmake, manage, or moderate interactions within the folder. The Reach is an experiment in shared infrastructure—something that depends on participants to use it well. Because of that, we made a few guidelines and we need you to follow them.
If you’re participating, you need to:
Read the call for pitches for Issue 2: METAL before you upload anything
Follow the folder structure and templates exactly
Keep your materials concise and intentional
Reach out respectfully, and accept that not every inquiry will lead somewhere
This is not a space for dumping full portfolios or unfinished drafts without context. It’s a place for making a clear, specific invitation to collaborate.
The Reach is also specific to our upcoming issue. If it’s working, it may evolve into something more continuous, or it may reset with each new call. For now, it is tied to METAL—so make sure you read up about what we’re looking for.
We’re super interested in what kinds of relationships can form here—both in finished pitches but also the exchanges that emerge from this experiment. We are hoping to create a space for new relationships and alignment.
If you want to participate, start by reading the call for pitches. If it feels like a fit…
Enter The Reach
And, as always, we’re curious what you think about it.